Conor Murray gives his verdict on son's future rugby allegiances with Joanna
Conor Murray has given his verdict on whether his son will play for Munster or Ulster when he grows up.
Conor played for Munster for over a decade and a half before retiring last September and has since started a podcast with his wife, Derry model Joanna Cooper.
With the couple welcoming their son Alfie into the world back in 2024, Conor and Joanna are already weighing up a potential rugby career for their youngster — although where his allegiances lie has become a point of contention.
Conor Murray has given his verdict on whether his son will play for Munster or Ulster when he grows up. Pic: Instagram/Joanna Cooper
Discussing a potential rugby career for Alfie on the third episode of their podcast, Joanna asked Conor if Alfie would like playing rugby for Munster — with Conor’s pause before answering saying it all.
‘It will be his choice, obviously,’ the former scrum-half told his wife. ‘You’d never force anything on anyone.’
Despite the civil answer, Conor joked that he might nudge his son towards a potential career in Thomond Park — joking, ‘there’ll be loads of Munster pictures in our house.’
Conor hung up the boots after a 15-year career with Munster last year. Pic: Shaun Roy/Sportsfile
‘So we’ll see. We’ll see.’
Conor has been open about how he met his soon-to-be wife in the past — and revealed during an appearance on the Bookshelf with Ryan Tubridy that it was an Instagram story that broke the ice.
Conor explained that he had been following Joanna on Instagram for a few months when he saw she had posted a photo of a salad and, feeling confident, he replied to it.
He laughed: ‘You probably think you’re unstoppable in those moments’, but admitted that she was not too impressed with his approach.
While the salad response didn’t work, Conor added that he continued to pursue Joanna, eventually going so far as to pretend he had a photoshoot in London with Adidas to ask her on a date.
The couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in Portugal in 2023 and started their podcast, Happily Murrayed, earlier this month.
